Being A Photographer Changed Me In 2020

So COVID-19 has disrupted daily life a bit eh? Prior to March 2020 rolling around I was creeping up on one year as a freelancer. My year was slowly filling up with event dates and contracts. Bike races, tourism contracts, running events and a variety of other experiences went POOF along with the calendars of hundreds of other photographers.

As March turned into April, it became clear to me that my life going back to normal was not even desirable. The ideas and concepts that I had discussed with friends and peers from the comfortable view of “normal life” no longer seemed superfluous. Then April turned into May.

Since 2012, I have been immersed in the tourism industry. From 2012 - 2014 I studied at Algonquin College’s Outdoor Adventure Program. I worked as a guide in various capacities. From 2014-2016, I went to Thompson Rivers University (TRU) to complete an undergraduate degree in Tourism Management. My experience of the professional and industry-side of tourism is gentrified, male-dominated and white. The visual representation is white. Adventure sports and adventure-driven tourism activities are beer-soaked inundated with bro culture.

And I am a part of that. I have been a part of that. I want to make a change. As a photographer I am usually a middle-person in any visual tourism campaign. Show up, be creative, make beautiful images, edit said images and deliver them to the client. With relationships over time, there are opportunities for input on photo-locations, basic media-type needs (digital media for websites, print options that call for landscape and portrait orientation etc) and talent diversification.

And talent diversification is where I need to spend a bit of time with you. My experience is not entirely representative of the industry writ-large, but is fairly common. At Algonquin College I was one of ~70 students. Male to female representation was at least 2-1. My recollection is all 70 were white/Caucasian. Fast-forward to TRU and the program I was in represented a couple thousand students in various disciplines and programs. Racially, it was much more diverse. This was no longer a guiding program but a tourism degree covering all sectors of the industry from hospitality, hotel management, marketing etc.

But. In my own little homogeneous bubble of people who camped, skied, snowboarded, paddled whitewater, all were white. Most were from fairly affluent backgrounds. Most could afford to work as ski instructors or whitewater rafting guides because they had a safety-net to cover actual living expenses that cannot be covered by the wages paid.

And why does any of this matter? Because there is a huge disconnect between those that work in the industry and the ability for them to see beyond their own racial circles. I have taught skiing and snowboarding at various resorts around the country. I have skied at many more. The racial make up is hugely diverse. But the visual media representation to promote those spaces and places do not look anything like the lived experience of them. You don’t have to go out west skiing for this to be the case either.

Ever been to Camp Fortune on a weekend? Skiing in 2020 is very diverse and it’s beautiful. Head down to Dow’s Lake on the Rideau Canal in Ottawa on any given day. It’s a beautiful thing to see. Couples, families of all sizes are out peddle-boating, kayaking and canoeing. It’s the same thing at the Portage Store in Algonquin Park. Are racial minorities the ones buying Kevlar canoes and back country camping 7 portages out from Canoe Lake? No, but they are participating in many, many other ways and yet do not see themselves represented in most/any of the activities.

Circling back to the role of photographer in tourism - I believe that it’s incumbent on us to help push the ball forward. People need to see themselves represented in spaces and places. Canadians from all racial backgrounds live, travel and experience places all over Canada. If they are not represented in visual media, why and how would they come visit? We talk about the hopes and dreams of children and youth and spend tons of money to tell inspiring stories they can aspire too. But every kid, regardless of background should be able to see themselves in print, online and social media. Every 20-something and family should aspire to vacation somewhere in Canada because they see other people like them in those places and spaces.

On the homepage of this website I have laid out some of the actionable steps I am taking in the short-term. I don’t really know the way forward but am going to moving into it.